Green Olives & Ham

How do I love thee ... Candy Corn

Oh, let me count the ways ... one!  I actually don't love it that much, but I do enjoy having some right around Halloween.  Then I'm done with it until next Halloween.

My daughter hasn't tried it yet, and I don't think she'd like it much.  It is just sugar and more sugar, but it is a pretty cute piece of candy.  So my daughter and I made paper candy corn.

We printed out a template from First School.  Then cut out the pieces from black, yellow, orange, and white cardstock. 

Then I gave my daughter the pieces, and she glued them on.  It's sort of a little puzzle, where you have to figure out which color goes on the bottom, the middle, and the top.  We didn't do the faces, as you will see at First School, but we did put our names on it after they were complete and hung them up near our personalized pumpkin patch.

It was an activity that took more time to prepare then to actually complete.  But we were both pretty pleased with our candy corn friends.

So maybe I don't I love candy corn all that much, but how do I love thee...se children's books.  Oh let me count the ways!!!

Personalized Pumpkin Patch

I mentioned in a previous post that my daughter really enjoys getting on the computer and typing her name.  We've moved away from this some, but she still enjoys it very much.  So we're working on some other activities off the computer that involve her name.

I made these pumpkins using a pumpkin cookie cutter and orange cardstock.  I cut out one for each letter of her name and wrote the letters on the pumpkins.

Then we hung them on the wall using a little bit of tape.  Now she has her own personalized pumpkin patch.  I put just a small amount of tape on the backs so that I could rearrange the letters at some point and play a game of Mixed Up Pumpkin Patch (sounds like I still have Dora's "Mixed Up Seasons" on the brain).

We actually have tons of pumpkins outside, and my daughter picked one really big one up the other day, and said "This pumpkin would make a beautiful pie".  We very rarely (I mean we never have pumpkin pie), so I wondered how she even knew about pumpkin pie, but that pumpkin probably would have made a beautiful pumpkin pie.  I am more of a pumpkin pancake person, and I recently saw pumpkin ice cream in the store that didn't sound too shabby.

-Michelle

 

Funspooky Halloween Costumes

The above title may need some explaining.  It's actually supposed to be Fun and Unspooky Halloween Costumes, but I thought I would shorten it some.  So I did and ... a new word was born "Funspooky".

Growing up, Halloween was a pretty exciting time.  I lived in a neighborhood with a lot of other children, and we all dressed up in our silly costumes and went treat-or-treating (I know, I typed treat-or-treating), but really there were no tricks about it.  We were getting treats, pillow cases filled with treats.

Now that I have a 3-year old, you would think that I would be excited about Halloween still.  But it gets less exciting each year.  We are not in a neighborhood filled with children, and we don't know our neighbors that well, and even if we did, very few of them give out candy.  And of course these days, candy is on the "red light or yellow light list" (moderation, right)?  The truth is my daughter eats very little candy, and it's not that we never offer it.  We do on occasion, and she's just not interested.

These days, I just don't like the spooky part of Halloween.  We recently went to dinner at a restaurant that was all decked out in its Halloween "finest".  It was an uncomfortable feeling, and I looked around and thought "It's really kind of creepy in here".

It's still fun to dress up, though in some funspooky costumes.  So here are some great costumes for ... oh, I don't know, how about less than 20.00.

Nick Friends:

Now is the time to order Halloween costumes from the Nickelodeon Shop because from now through October 31, 2009, Halloween Costumes are 20% off.  Your Nick fan will love dressing up as Dora, the Backyardigans, the Wonder Pets, or Blue's Clues.  Click on baby Blue below to check out the costumes at Nickelodeon.

 

Doctor:

I love the idea of a Doctor's costume because it is easy and comfortable.  Maybe not real warm, but scrubs are definitely comfortable.  You may already have a Doctor's set (stethoscope, medical bag, thermometer, etc.), so now all you need are the scrubs.  And you can always use this costume throughout the year in your Doctor's Office Dramatic Play area.  You don't even to have to use these for your Dramatic Play area, scrubs can be worn all the time.  I'm all about comfort!

Check out Ebay for some kids scrubs.  They really are pretty inexpensive.

Baby Lobster:

Who doesn't love Lobster?  Oh right, maybe your child hasn't had lobster, yet.  Mine certainly hasn't, but how cute is this Lobster costume?

The much loved Dinosaur:

Yes friends, this one is a little over 20.00, but it is a beloved Dinosaur.

And since I've already failed my 20.00 challenge, how about this fine fellow:

I'm sure the above costume will bring your child *"Lots of good fun that is funny"* in a funspooky kind of way.

*The above phrase is from "The Cat In The Hat" by Dr. Seuss.

- Michelle

Funspooky Books:

Based on Don Freeman's beloved character, Corduroy gets ready for a Halloween party. What will he dress up as?

Although "Room on the Broom" looks somewhat spooky (Witch's are spooky to me), this is a cute story about friendship, and there's nothing spooky about that!
 

"What is Halloween" helps to explain to children that the haunted houses and spooky costumes are only a small part of Halloween.

Be sure to check out Chronicle Books for 30% off Halloween books, plus free shipping (through 10/31/09). Use promo code: Halloween.