Playing with packing peanuts

Last autumn we were given several bags of packing peanuts and I posted about crafts with packing peanuts. We still have a basket of peanuts left and they've been great for indoor play during the winter.

January

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is hosted by Francesca at FuoriBorgo. We are invited to post pictures telling the stories of our different lives and cultures. This week's theme is 'January'.



Corner Views from around the world:
Jane, Dana, Bonny, Joyce, Ian, Francesca, Theresa, Cate, Kasia, Otli, Trinsch, Isabelle, Janis, Kari, jgy, Lise, Dorte, McGillicutty, Sunnymama, Ibb, Kelleyn, Ninja, Sky, RosaMaria, Juniper, Valerie, Sammi, Cole, Don, WanderChow, FlowTops, Tania, Tzivia, Kristin, Laura, Guusje, Susanna, Juana, Elsa, Nadine

Favourite websites for young children

One of the first websites Sunnyboy used himself was Charlie and Lola and it was while watching video clips on that site that he started using the mouse. Since then he's taught himself more computer skills by spending time on the CBeebies website. Other sites he visits too include Poisson Rouge, UpToTen.com and The Fungooms. Recently he also did a two week free trial on Reading Eggs and they've now been sent us a code for a month free trial. His favourite website though is YouTube!

This week we decided to look for more websites that he'd like and tried out quite a few. If you have any favourite websites for young children we'd love you to let us know in the comments. Here's the list we have so far:

ABC 4 kids
Barnes&Noble Online Storytime
Bembo's Zoo
Boohbah
BrainBox
CBeebies
Charlie and Lola
Childtopia
Count Us In
Curious George
Doodle!
Enchanted Learning
Fisher Price
Kids' CBC
Leading to Reading
Learning Games for Kids
Light Up Your Brain
LiteracyCenter.Net
Mazes
NASA Kids' Club
National Geographic Kids
Orisinal
Pauly's Playhouse
PBS Kids
PEEP and the Big Wide World
Poisson Rouge
Reading Eggs
Scholastic
Seussville
Sheppard Software
The Fungooms
UpToTen.com
YouTube
Ziggity Zoom

We also found this great list of Favourite Interactive Museum Websites for Children at Autonomous Education.

See more play and learning ideas at:
Link & Learn at No Time For Flash Cards
Playdate at Beneath the Rowan Tree
Learning Laboratory at mama smiles
Show and Tell at ABC and 123
It's Playtime at The Imagination Tree, Quirky Momma, let the children play, hands on : as we grow and Messy Kids
Fun Sparks at Science Sparks
Thank Goodness It's Friday! at Living Life Intentionally
Fun for Kids Friday at Local Fun For Kids
For the Kids Friday at Sun Scholars
Play Academy at NurtureStore
Sharing Saturday at Mama Mia's Heart2Heart and Crafty Moms Share
The Sunday Showcase at Classified: Mom and Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Squirrel (Nozy's Nature Pictures)

See more animal pictures at Camera Critters

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember...
SouleMama

All Year Round Blog Carnival: get a button

This year at sunnydaytodaymama we'll be hosting a new blog carnival, All Year Round, a quarterly link collection of spring, summer, autumn and winter posts sharing seasonal thoughts, pictures, activities, crafts, recipes, art, projects, celebrations and more.



Spring carnival begins 15th February 2012
Summer carnival begins 15th May 2012
Autumn carnival begins 15th August 2012
Winter carnival begins 15th November 2012

Get a button, spread the word, and come back to link up your spring posts at the All Year Round Blog Carnival: Spring beginning on 15th February.

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If you'd be interested in hosting the carnival at your blog too please let me know in the comments or contact us here.

Mud pies and outdoor play kitchen inspiration

Sunnyboy loves making mud pies with friends in the garden.


July 2011

He's always had an indoor play kitchen and also a box of kitchen utensils, bowls and buckets for the garden, where he has a mud patch. Recently he said he'd like Nozy to help him make a wooden cooker for the garden so I've been looking for inspiration for an outdoor play kitchen area we can get ready for spring. These are some of the kitchens I found.

Creating a mud pie kitchen at Rhythm of the Home

Source: rhythmofthehome.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Make a Mud Pie Kitchen at juise

Source: thejuicery.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

A fun, simple mud kitchen at {Share & Remember}

Source: shareandremember.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

A beautiful, vintage outdoor kitchen at gardenmama

Source: gardenmama.typepad.com via Sunny on Pinterest

A National Trust mud pie kitchen at Adventures @ Play

Source: mrsm-adventuresplay.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Thrifting for the Mud Pie Kitchen and Fine Tuning the Mud Pie Kitchen at TinkerLab

Source: tinkerlab.com via Sunny on Pinterest

A mud kitchen for our mud patch part 1, A mud kitchen for our mud patch part 2, Making mud pies, More mud pie kitchen madness, Mud pie kitchens revisited, Play heats up in the outdoor kitchen, Mud pie kitchen roundup, What's cooking in the outdoor kitchen and Mud pie kitchens galore at let the children play

Source: progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

More mud pie kitchens on Pinterest

Source: artfulparent.typepad.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: frugalfamilyfunblog.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: elsiemarley.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: happylittlemesses.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: mamauk.typepad.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: thewritestart.typepad.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: expecttheunexpectedblog.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: simple-whimsy.blogspot.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: pepperpaints.com via Sunny on Pinterest

Source: sewliberated.typepad.com via Sunny on Pinterest

If you have a mud pie kitchen I'd love you to leave a link in the comments.

See more play, craft and learning ideas at:
Link & Learn at No Time For Flash Cards
Playdate at Beneath the Rowan Tree
Learning Laboratory at mama smiles
Show and Tell at ABC and 123
Kids Get Crafty at Red Ted Art's Blog
It's Playtime at The Imagination Tree, Quirky Momma, let the children play, hands on : as we grow and Messy Kids
Fun Sparks at Science Sparks
Thank Goodness It's Friday! at Living Life Intentionally
Fun for Kids Friday at Local Fun For Kids
For the Kids Friday at Sun Scholars
Play Academy at NurtureStore
Sharing Saturday at Mama Mia's Heart2Heart and Crafty Moms Share
The Sunday Showcase at Classified: Mom and Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Outdoor Play at Mama Pea Pod, Greening Sam & Avery and Learning for Life
See more nature ideas at:
Friday's Nature Tables at The Magic Onions

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember...
SouleMama

Climbing a hill

This week we went to the first of a series of workshops about the river in our city and this week's session was about the history of the river and this hill nearby. It's one of very few hills near where we live and has a fascinating history. It's also a part of Sunnyboy's history as it's where Sunnyboy was given his name at 3 weeks old. After the workshop Sunnyboy and I decided to climb the hill.

Creme de la Creme of 2011

This is the post I submitted to the Creme de la Creme of 2011

Saying Goodbye Again (from Sunnydaytodaymama): A mother says goodbye to the embryos that didn’t make it post-transfer, all the while looking at her IVF child and knowing how much he wants to be a big brother.

Today another could have been due date passes and I'm thinking of all our babies.