Thursday, August 27, 2020

Bug Sensory Preschool Activities and Memory Verse

My two and a half year old recently decided she was terrified of bugs. This meant she would scream every time she saw a bug. And this made eating outside impossible. And we love eating outside because we don't have to sweep the floor afterwards! ;) 

So on a mission to desensitize her to bugs, while also throwing in some educational and busy activities, I created these bug themed activities for both her and my almost five year old.


In addition to educational and fun bug activities, I really wanted to work on some scripture memorization with my kids, especially since they aren't attending Sunday School or nursery at church.

Since my kids don't read yet, I used my symbol writer from Widgit Online that I use to create special education materials. This way they can "read" the pictures!



This small scripture card is fun to use with these bug erasers. We can cover up a picture every time we say a word or cover the words and take them off as we recite the verse from memory!


Working on tracing and coloring is always fun too!



Here they can sort through the bugs and match to the bugs on the card. The bug tongs are fun to use to capture and inspect real bugs too!


I love this book, "All God's Bugs". It talks about all the bugs God created, counting, and has suggested activities at the end and stickers to place on each page.



We also used the bug erasers to graph and sort the bugs.
(On the back side of this graph there is a sorting page with four circles to sort the erasers by type.)


All pre-made kits have been sold out. A bug kit includes:


🐛 12 vinyl bugs and laminated matching page
🐞 15 mini erasers to sort and graph
🐜 1 set of bug grabber tongs
🐛 laminated memory verse with symbols for beginning readers
🐞 memory verse coloring pages with symbols or tracing
🐜 All God’s Bugs sticker and activity book
🐛 NOT INCLUDED: add your own bin and a sensory filler such as rice, lentils, beans or shredded paper
Need more? Add on extra tongs or books!

disclaimer: small items, not for children under 3


Or you can prep yourself - for personal use only/not for profit

🐛 free download: memory verse, coloring pages, tracing pages, and bug sorting page
🐞 Bug Mini Erasers (amazon affiliate link)
🐜 Bug grabber tongs (amazon affiliate link, or Oriental Trading)
🐛 Vinyl Bugs (amazon affiliate link, these look similar to the ones I purchased from Oriental Trading)



Some more fun bug activities

We made a game and Gavin played for hours!

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Saturday, November 18, 2017

Baby Registry Must Haves

Quite a few of my friends are expecting their first (yay!) and I always like to send them my registry favorite lists...but I couldn't find it! :( So I decided to post it online.

There are so many different things you can register for, but honestly, baby doesn't need that much.


Here are my must haves!!! All of the amazon links in this post are affiliate links

Nursing / Feeding
A 360 nursing cover is a must!! I love how easily it fits in the diaper bag, and can be used as a carseat cover, shopping seat cover, and of course a nursing cover as well! I liked this for nursing because I felt completely covered and it was less awkward than the front-only covering ones.

Breast Pump: get one through your insurance, it should be free or close to it!

Nursing pillow: The bobby is so popular, but I found it flimsy. I guess I'm high maintenance. I liked the mombo pillow as it has a firm size and a soft side. Also, My Breast Friend is amazing!

Bottles: Gavin didn't use them that often, but the mam bottles worked well for him. It might have helped that his pacifiers were the same brands.

Pacifiers: The mam brand pacis were the absolute best for us! And I love their glow in the dark ones for nighttime. They glow all night long, so nice when you are searching for one in the dark!

Portable high chair: My friend has this one, and I'm jealous ;) so I might have to get it for baby #2! So compact and easy to use!

High chair: There are so many options, and I don't think you can go wrong choosing a high chair ;)

Bedding / Swaddles / Sleep
47x47 cotton muslin swaddles: Everyone loves the Aden and Anais brand, and that's what we got. But I've tried others, and they are literally all the same, so just go with whatever patterns you like best! (Most swaddles are 44x44 and the extra 3 inches made all the difference for me! I had 44x44 swaddles that I got brand new and 47x47 swaddles that I found at a thrift store...and couldn't figure out why I liked the thrift store swaddles better, until I realized it was because the size was different!

Blankets: Your baby doesn't really need any fluffy blankets, but feel free to get one if you think they are cute ;)

Crib Sets: The crib sets with the comforters...so not needed. You won't use that comforter/quilt!

Bumper pad: Technically, I don't think these are recommended but I especially loved having one to make sure the pacis stayed in the crib! Lifesaver! I really liked the ones from breathable baby, because I felt like it was totally safe. I love these neutral owls or this woodland theme ones! They have solids too.

Crib sheets: Make sure they are 100% cotton! Surprisingly, I got some from Breathable Baby that went with our bumper pad and later found out they were 100% polyester. :( Cotton is so much better for babies.

Sound machine: Doesn't matter which one, but you need one. The doorbell rings, the dog barks...and the baby stays sleeping thanks to the sound machine. You're welcome

Black out curtains: Because everyone sleeps better in the dark.

Nightlight: Sounds counterproductive, right? But you'll want a nightlight if you're nursing at night, you need to see at least a little bit!

Car Seats, Etc.

 Chico Key Fit 30: It's the most popular, so we went it and we liked it!

Graco Extend to Fit: Perfect convertible car seat. We also liked the milestone or All-in-One by Graco too.

Car Seat Mirror: You'll want to be able to look back in your rearview mirror and see what's going on (only when it's safe to do so, of course) ;)

Car Seat Cover: (see nursing cover, it doubles as both!)

Stroller: I'm the weirdest person I know as I didn't like big strollers. I also just didn't like strollers in general. So I found I prefer umbrella strollers. But, everyone I know loves the City Select stroller, get both seats right away!

Other must haves!
Bandana bibs: Gavin was a drool monster! Seriously soaked through his clothes in minutes. These bandana bibs were our favorite because they were so absorbent, his shirt stayed dry, and they were cute too!

Snot Sucker: Sure, it seems gross, but the nose frida really does work the best, so much better than the bulbs.

Tylenol: Go dye-free! Babies do not need red #40 in their system. Also, a nice thing to add to your registry so you'll have it when you need it :(

Teething necklace: This one is for you to wear and baby to chew one! I had one where the beads went all the way around, you don't want these on your neck. Make sure to get one like this with beads just on the bottom. It was great to wear to church and always have something to easily entertain baby with!

Carriers: I'd recommend both a wrap, such as the Solly wrap, and a carrier such as the Tula or the Ergo. (I actually have a Boba carrier for my buckle carrier, but I got it instead of the Tula because it came with an infant insert, however, now knowing I prefer the wrap when they are little I would go with the Tula instead.) The wrap was my favorite because it was very comfortable for me, and also nice because you can use it from birth. But my husband definitely preferred the carrier. And when they get older, it's nice to be able to wear them on your baby, which you'll want the buckle carrier for.

I'm sure I'm missing quite a few essentials, but I hope that helped get you started!
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