Q is for Questions (Blogging Through the Alphabet)

My life is full of questions; some of which I never thought I would ask (or hear!) before I had children.

My children have asked some interesting, unusual, and sometimes cute questions of me. 

© Kovacsf | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

"Do you mean we get to have Christmas again this year?"

"Can I have chocolate? I finished my breakfast."

"Why did I get a cup?!?"
(in reference to a gift)

We have also asked our children some questions over the years that may seem a bit unusual -- unless you also have children.

"Why are your feet in your breakfast?"

"What do you mean penne pasta tastes different than elbow macaroni?"

"Did you put the corn kernel in your nose?"

"Are you supposed to put your foot on the table?"

"Why are you eating your applesauce with your hands and not the spoon?"

And the questions their children have asked them. 

"Did you have TV when you were little or did you just play with sticks?"

"When will I be the same age as you?"


When attending church at the age of three, "Why isn't Jesus here? We all came to celebrate his birthday and he didn't even show up!"

Or when talking about Christmas angels, "You mean like Harold?"

My family and friends have also shared some of the questions they have asked their children. 

"How did you get marker all over your face?"

"Who shoved a wash rag down the bathtub drain?"

"Why are you eating a stick of butter?"

"Did you shave your arms with your sister's razor?"

What questions have you found yourself asking your children?  What questions of theirs have stopped you in your tracks?

I linked up with the following blog(s): 

Busy/Quiet Boxes - Funny Felt Faces

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After discovering the idea of busy or quiet boxes online, I scoured Pinterest for ideas that I could put into action in order to promote my toddler's imagination and quiet activities.

If you are unfamiliar with busy or quiet boxes, they are quite simple and can be implemented in a number of ways. A box can be created for each day of the week (or just the weekdays), bags can be created for each separate activity so you can pick and choose when to share certain activities, or bags can be created that can be taken out to restaurants and shopping trips.

This activity was based upon the idea of creating faces out of pre-cut felt.

I decided to create two skin tones (for now) as well several hair styles, eye colors and shapes, noses, and facial hair. I used green felt left from my Christmas Tree Activity for the background and sewed plastic canvas inside to provide some shape and stability.

In the future, I would like to create additional hair styles in different colors and additional mouths to show different emotions.

   

  

Fall Crafts: Scarecrow

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With the autumn weather, comes pumpkin picking, Halloween projects, and fall crafts. There are so many cute ideas on Pinterest and Facebook, it is sometimes easy to be overwhelmed by all the choices.  This year we made a simple paper plate scarecrow to decorate our front door.

Materials 

• paper plates
• yellow construction paper
• red construction paper
• white construction paper
• black construction paper
• orange construction paper 
• brown construction paper 
• markers or paint and paint brushes
• glue or glue sticks
• tape 
• scrapbook paper 
• scissors 

Steps 

1. Gather materials. (If your children are handy with scissors, have them help out.)

2. Color the paper plate.

3. Glue on the eyes, nose, and mouth.

4. Glue on the hair.

5. Glue on the hat.

6. Glue on the bow-tie.

Both my children enjoyed decorating and creating their own unique scarecrows. If you and your children make any, I would love to see them.  You can share them with me on Instagram or Facebook. Tag my page or use #momquesttoteach on Instagram. 

My son's scarecrow 

Resources 

Crafts for Preschooler's Scarecrow 

Original Scarecrow inspiration 

Crafty Morning's Popsicle Stick Scarecrow

No Time For Flash Card's Scarecrow 

How do you spell a great lesson plan? Schoolhouse Spelling!

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Struggling with finding a way to meet the spelling needs of your child?  Are there too many lists and words and you don't know where to start? Schoolhouseteachers.com offers Schoolhouse Spelling to its members with options from Preschool to High School.  

Schoolhouse Spelling offers Preschool Spelling (40 weeks of age-appropriate words), Lower Elementary Spelling (two years of material), Upper Elementary Spelling (four years of material), Middle School Spelling (four years of material), and High School Spelling (four years of material).

My four year old and I have started working through the Preschool Spelling which includes video flash cards of the weekly words and worksheets to practice the words of the week.  It is designed to help students learn letter sounds and form words.

The first week reviews 'at' words such as cat, hat and rat.  We also made other 'at' words including bat, sat, and mat. In week two, words: bat, mat, sat, and fat will be discussed and practiced. 

As my son likes to practice writing, we wrote the words on the white board and on scrap paper for him to practice. During the activity, my daughter also wanted her own list of words and drew her own pictures to go along with her brother.  

The week's activities continue with the student drawing a picture of a cat, a hat, and a rat each day while tracing the word.  

My son's cat.

I found these lessons to be a great introduction to spelling.  Both my four year old son and my two year old daughter can review the words together and practice sounds.  

The other levels will be just as valuable as they meet the needs of more advanced learners.  In the Lower Elementary Grades, students can practice correcting misspelled words and rhyming among other activities. There are also options at the different levels to approach the spelling via a phonics based style or a Charlotte Mason style.  They can be used independently or together (one following the other).  The lessons also approach the course from a Biblical Worldview offering Bible quotations to learn new spelling words. 

Veggie Tales-Themed Birthday Party

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Over the past year or so, our children have begun watching Veggie Tales. As the series has quickly become a favorite with our son, we celebrated his fourth birthday party with the Veggie Tales.

Food

Cheesy Chicken and Rice 

I based my dish off of Mandy's Recipe Box's Slow Cooker Cheesy Rice and Chicken Casserole.

BBQ Ranch Drumsticks 

I based my recipe off of The Frugal Girls' Crockpot BBQ Ranch Drumsticks Recipe.

Burgers and Hot dogs 

We had to have Mr. Lunt's Cheeseburger at the party for guests.

Crackers and Cheese 

My 4 year son and 2 year old daughter enjoyed the tray so much at her party in April, they requested it at my son's party.

Veggie Tray

Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheese Curls  

Goliath's Pickled Potato Salad

I usually like making potato salad for our family parties.  This was a perfect chance to make a different version.

Bob the Tomato Cake 

Games and Crafts

"Where is my hairbrush?"  

The fantastic thing about this version of 'pin the tail' is that there really is no wrong place for the children to pin the hairbrush.  (Especially since Larry doesn't have any hair.)

Pin the hairbrush on Larry

Decorations

In the past years our children have helped prepare the house for their parties and this year was no exception! They helped make decorations for the party.

Moe and the Big Exit Coloring Page

Various Coloring Pages 

Coloring Pages of Junior, Larry, and King George and his Ducky

I decorated balloons as characters from the show to decorate both inside and outside the house.

Balloons 

I painted paper towel and toilet paper rolls to create characters from the show to decorate the kitchen.

Veggie Tales Toilet Paper Rolls 

I prepared materials for the guests to make their own Veggie Tales Stained Glass pictures to take home.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to make the craft.

Veggie Tales Stained 'Glass' craft 

Veggie Toss

I recycled the box I painted for my daughter's party as a hay bale and turned it into a basket.  We purchased some cheap, plastic fruits and veggies for the children to toss into the basket. 

I used my teen's Veggie Tales toys to decorate the dining room table and the living room.  (My littles love being able to play with these figures.) 

Pirate Ship

Castle

Resources 

Veggie Toss Idea 
Twintough's Instagram Photo of Larry, Bob, and Peas Desert
My Dirty Apron's Veggie Tales Party 
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Balloons
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Toilet Paper Rolls
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Stained Glass Craft 

Our son received a Larry plush for his birthday.  My daughter promptly decided she wanted it and my 4 year old son gave it to her.  So sweet.  

  

I linked up with the following blog(s):

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

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Our adventurous son turned three in June. As he developed a love for Mickey Mouse over the course of this year, we decided that this would be a fantastic theme for his third birthday party.

Here is a link to my Pinterest board: Mickey Mouse Party Ideas.

 

Food 

Cupcakes 

I made Mickey Mouse themed cupcakes with Oreo cookies and white chocolate chips. I got the idea from I'm Quite Crafty. I think the hardest part for me was getting the red icing just the right color. I used Mickey Mouse cupcake holders from the store.

  

And we had Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treats.

Our snack table...with his sister's Daniel Tiger themed birthday items as well. 

We found popcorn holders and straws at the Dollar Store.  Other supplies were picked up, like napkins and plates, as we saw them. 

Games 

My modified version of the popular punch board game.  I originally got the idea from this pin: Minnie Mouse Pick a Mouse Board as well as my sister-in-law's Halloween party for my niece.

I painted one side of the stroller box white, cut out circles, and with my husbands help with attached cups to the back. We then filled the cups with candy and taped a layer of tissue paper onto the front of the board. 

I decorated the holes with Mickey Mouse cut outs to give the kids direction as to where to punch.  

If I had to make it all over again, I would make the hole smaller so that the cups fit more tightly and just attach the tissue paper to each cup individually.  

 

With his cousin - getting lots of candy!

Coloring 

We set up a coloring table for the kids but unfortunately we ran out of time but my son had fun coloring the pages for thank yous for the guests.