Grae and I are very lucky to be part of a fabulous little play school co-op here in Kuwait. The whole thing is very low key. We meet at someone’s house every Sunday morning to partake in a few fun activities that go with our weekly theme, and then we meet on again on Thursday mornings for a less structured outdoor outing or ‘field trip’ of some sort. Since this week’s theme was apples, I helped to set up an apple pie making station for our little ones {ages 1 to 4} to enjoy.
Like the last minute mama I can often be, last night I whipped up a several pages worth of activity cards to fill Miss G’s advent calendar with. {Ahem… How’d you sneak up so quickly, Mr. December?!} Last year, I wrote the activity cards out by hand each night before going to bed, but getting them all done in one go and having a bank to choose from come midnight each night sounded like a nice change this time around.
Welp, I guess that’s shoe tying taken care of.
Hah! In all fairness, I’ve not shown her how to properly shoes and she’s not asked. Because why would you if you had already mastered this awesome {and very open-ended} weaving method?!
Woohoo! The season of homemade Christmas ornaments has officially begun in our house and we’re already loving it. We always dedicate a morning or afternoon to creating special ornaments for the tree as a family, and then Grae and I add to our collection right up until Christmas {as you do}.
Okay, so I admit it – we’re a bit play dough kit obsessed over here. We can’t help it. Play dough is something that we play with on a daily basis and having pre-made kits filled with dough and interesting loose parts makes it really easy to delve into the fun – everything that’s needed is right there in a container waiting to be taken out! It also means that Grae can easily help herself to a kit and have a fun activity pre-prepared for independent play times, which I love.
When you live in Kuwait and you have photos like these, you know it’s been a very, very good day.
Oh my goodness… It feels like Gracen and I have been waiting for this week’s instalment of our preschool book club forever! Shortly after sharing our magnetic polka dot sensory bag inspired by Press Here {one of our favourites}, Herve Tullet’s publicist contacted us and asked if we’d be interested in checking out his newest book, Mix It Up! Ummm.. YES?! {And stay tuned until the end of the post, because we’re also giving away a copy to one of our lovely readers!}
When Gracen gets invited to a birthday party, she’s usually excited about two things – actually going to the party of course, and coming up with a fun gift to bring along! This gift was for a friend who was celebrating her 7th birthday this time around, so Miss G knew she wanted something ‘big girlish’. We brainstormed ideas throughout the week {a hair dressing kit and a card making kit were other options in the running – two of G’s favourite things}, but in the end we decided on a little chef’s baking kit since our friend enjoys baking with her mama just as Grae and I enjoy baking together.
While living in Kuwait certainly comes with its challenges, the perks are undeniable… Today, thanks to very generous friends, Miss G and I spent our day out at a private villa in Khiran soaking up Kuwait’s gorgeous fall sun. The company was fabulous, the food was delicious as always, and the kids happily played all morning. It’s easy to forget the challenges on days like these…
While everyone else may have stopped visiting weeks ago, I think fall may be the Hilton’s very best season… The season of playground play and beach exploring! Both are pretty much out of the question during the hot spring and summer months, so Miss G and I are taking full advantage now that we can bear to be outdoors without being in a pool. This morning we had all kinds of fun on the beach digging for creatures, collecting treasures, and writing and reading words in the sand, and next week we’ll try doing a little playground tour with Miss G’s bike. ☺
Here’s our morning in photos…
I’m pretty sure Gracen’s obsession with Frozen has reached an all-time high recently. She’s always really enjoyed the movie, but since removing the YouTube app from her iPad a while back, I’m fairly certain she’s spent at least a portion of her allotted screen time watching it every single day. Of course, when your start your day with a dose of Frozen, it translates into into a whole lot of Elsa dress-up, many Anna hairdo requests, non-stop ‘Let It Go’, and daily reenactments of the ‘do you want to build a snowman?’ scene {accompanied by plenty of door knocking}. Welcome to our world.
Was there any way I could resist buying these glasses for Miss G this summer? Nope, there certainly wasn’t.
With Halloween behind us, Miss G and I removed the spider wreath from our door this morning and replaced it with the beautiful poppy-covered one she made last year in honour of Remembrance Day. We also set out a very simple bouquet of cupcake liner poppies that were inspired by the ones on our wreath.
While at the aquarium today…
Gracen: ‘Mama, you know… I speak penguin language. I really do.’
Me: ‘You do? What is this penguin saying to you?’
Gracen: ‘Oh, he said, “Gracen, are you really a princess?”
Me: ‘And how did you respond?
Gracen: I said yes – OF COURSE!
