Deirdre, Author at JDaniel4s Mom

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as a elementary school and technology resource teacher in Northern Virginia, she became a stay at home mom in upstate South Carolina. Her blog features ways she and her 5 year old are exploring learning, crafting, creating healthy meals and living life to its fullest. Deirdre can also be found on twitter as @jdaniel4smom and on her blog's FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

Seeing Green at the Grocery Store- St. Patrick’s Day Activity

March 17, 2010 By Deirdre

I picked up these paint chips at my local Lowe’s store. I love that they have a window you can use to see an object behind the paint chip and see if it matches. The little window made it a great tool to take to the grocery store and look for green foods. JDaniel loves to have something to do while sitting in the cart. This activity was a lot of fun.

St. Patrick's Day Grocery Store Color Hunt - Acorn Squash

Sometimes I would hand JDaniel the item to test.

St. Patrick's Day Grocery Store Color Hunt - Broccoli Sometimes I would hold the card up to the food and have him tell me if it matched.

We looked like we were having so much fun another mother of a two-year-old mentioned she would like to try this activity with her child.

A Wee Little Man Came Visiting

March 16, 2010 By Deirdre

A little man came to visit my house weeks ago and has been waiting for JDaniel and me to show him the town. Flat Stanley came with the snow in the middle of February and due to a lot of things happening in my family he sat quietly and waited for us to work on his project.

On Friday JDaniel and I took him to down to Greenville to see the Liberty Bridge and Falls Park. We all stayed dry and really enjoyed checking out the bridge and the falls.

Can you tell I let JDaniel do most of the coloring?

We still have something things to do for him before he heads home to New Hampshire, but at least he got to see some of our town.

St. Patrick’s Day Finger Plays

March 15, 2010 By Deirdre

Leprechaun Fingerplay

Leprechaun, leprechaun,
Hiding in the hay. (Hide pointer finger under opposite hand.)
Leprechaun, leprechaun,
Don’t you run away. (Hop pointer finger around.)
Leprechaun, leprechaun,
Let’s go out and play. (Hop both pointer fingers together.)
Leprechaun, leprechaun,
It’s St. Patrick’s Day! (Dance pointer fingers up and down.)

This Little Leprechaun

This little leprechaun slid down the rainbow, (Point to thumb.)
This little leprechaun stayed home. (Point to index finger.)
This little leprechaun picked a shamrock, (Point to middle finger.)
This little leprechaun found some gold. (Point to ring finger.)
This little leprechaun cried, “See if you can catch me,” (Point to little finger.)
As he ran home. (Wiggle little finger.)

Taken from http://www.preschooleducation.com/spatrick.shtml

Hands On Thank You Notes

March 11, 2010 By Deirdre

Kids can use a hand print instead of signing their name on their thank you notes.

My sister Michelle used to have her children’s hand traced at the bottom of their thank you notes. It was a great alternative to having them scribble all over the card. Yesterday afternoon I finally sat down to write thank you notes for all of JDaniel’s wonderful birthday gifts. Last night after dinner we sat down to do his hand tracings. He loved that he was getting to leave a handprint on the cards that were going out to thank his friends and family. JDaniel was very patient as I traced his hand over and over again.

Shearing or Plucking A Sheep

March 9, 2010 By Deirdre

When I visit the other Muffin Tin Monday blogs, I get to see some of the crafts they do as a part of a group called Tot School. They always look great and fit a theme each mom has picked for the week. Since I am focusing on lions and lambs this week, I thought I would have JDaniel make a lamb with cotton balls and a paper plate on Sunday night.

JDaniel was excited about doing a project. He carefully placed each cotton ball on the plate after I put a dab of glue on it. JDaniel rushed in the kitchen to show my husband when he was done. They hung it on the refrigerator in a prominent spot that was easy for him to see.

Monday morning the lamb was brought into the living room and placed on the coffee table. Then the shearing or plucking of the lamb began. JDaniel slowly pulled off all the cotton balls and placed them on the table. When he was finished, he walked away.

I asked him if he wanted to glue the cotton back on the plate. JDaniel told me, “No.” It was a fun and cute craft while it lasted.

I learned two lessons. One enjoys the process of making the craft. Two hang craft projects up high on the refrigerator.

signature

JDaniel’s Birthday Was A Success!

March 6, 2010 By Deirdre

JDaniel had a wonderful birthday. From having his Cozy Coupe waiting for him when he came down to breakfast, to getting to wear his special Curious George birthday shirt, time at the zoo, eating cupcakes, and opening gifts he loved it all. There was a meltdown when mama won’t let him open the GeoTrax gift his friend Jake gave him until naptime was over and a really short nap so that he would get to play with his new toy. Dinner with my mom and two phone calls from sets relatives singing him Happy Birthday ended his day with a bang. By the time his head hit the mattress, he was filled with wonderful memories of turning two.

Here is picture of his monkey cupcakes.

This is Jake and JDaniel looking for the alligator!

Birthday Songs and Fingerplays

March 6, 2010 By Deirdre

The Birthday Song
Oh, do you know the birthday girl (boy) The birthday girl, the birthday girl, Oh, do you know the birthday girl, Her (his) name is __________.
Do you know how old she is How old she is, how old she is? Do you know how old she is She is ___________ years old.

Birthday Doo Dah

Zippity – sung to “Zippity Doo dah”
Zippity dooh dah, zippity ay,my oh my what a wonderful day,plenty of sunshine comin’ your way (you way!)zippity dooh dah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Taken from http://stepbystepcc.com/holidays/birthday.html

Five Candles on the Cake
Five candles on a birthday cake

Five, and not one more.

You may blow one candle out, [make blowing sound and motion]

And that leaves four!

Four candles on a birthday cake

There for all to see.

You may blow one candle out, [make blowing sound and motion]

And that makes three!

Three candles on a birthday cake

Standing straight and true.

You may blow one candle out, [make blowing sound and motion]

And that leaves two!

Two candles on a birthday cake

Helping us have fun.

You may blow one candle out, [make blowing sound and motion]

And that leaves one!

One candle on a birthday cake

We know its task is done.

You may blow this candle out, [make blowing sound and motion]And that leaves none!

Taken from http://earlylit.net/wordpress/category/storytime-component/fingerplays-and-rhymes/

Birthdays
Birthday candles, one-two-three (hold up fingers on the count)
Birthday candles just for me! (point to self)
Last year two, next year four (hold up 2 fingers on left hand and 4 on right)
Birthday candles I want more! (hold up all fingers)

Taken from http://leland22201.tripod.com/id3.html

Changes From One to Two

March 2, 2010 By Deirdre

JDaniel will turn two on Friday. When I think about what he was doing a year ago and compare it to what he is doing now, it is amazing.

There are some things that are the same. Books are still one of his favorite things in the world. He has always loved to sit by himself and look at books as well as being read to. JDaniel’s very best friends are still the friends he met through the library and play group. Being outside or as he says “ouside” is really where he loves to be. We still start the day with morning prayers and snuggling. He still loves to snuggle with his hand up my husband’s or my sleeve. During meals holding hands to pray is still something JDaniel does. Bathtime is very much something he has continued to love. Eating has also continued to be something he enjoys. Now he is a little pickier.

There are many things that are different. JDaniel didn’t start to walk until he was 15 month old. This time last year he was still low crawling. Now he runs everywhere. I love to hear the padding of his sneakers around the house. He didn’t used to like to feed himself. Now he doesn’t like to be fed. Coloring, painting with bingo markers, building towers, and exploring all of his toys fills his time inside the house. Outside he loves to blow bubbles, gather sticks, play soccer, and write with chalk. JDaniel talks a mile a minute and knows about 400 words now. (About 150 of the words are food related) He gives great hugs now. He used to just cling. He can now say, “I wub you”,blow kisses, and hug you.

I wonder what he will be like this time next year.

Muffin Tin Monday- Bananas and Breakfast for Lunch

March 1, 2010 By Deirdre

JDaniel loves Curious George and I love breakfast! I combined those two loves to put together this meal. It consisted of pancakes with syrup, banana pudding, ham slices, banana yogurt, and mandarin oranges. Curious George would need small sized food so the pancakes, ham slices, and oranges were all small in size. The foods that had bananas in them were to satisfy JDaniel and George’s love of them. The napkin will be a part of his Curious George birthday party on Friday. We took one out early just for fun!

Disclaimer: This meal was served last Tuesday. We left last Wednesday for Augusta following my fathers-in-law passing and we didn’t return home until yesterday.

I am so glad we had this meal before we left. JDaniel ate meals in hotels, my in-laws’ house, a church dining room, a few restaurants, and the car while we were gone. On our last night in Augusta he threw up three times and he went on a liquid and cracker diet on Sunday.

Enjoy Being You!

February 25, 2010 By Deirdre

My friend Cathy just sent me this awesome quote. It really makes me think about the need to enjoy being you!

‘May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are… Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us..’

With all that is going on with my family this week this quote reminds me that your life is important each and everyday.