F is for Flowers

Our craft project for F was flowers. I had a lot of ideas to make them fancy, but at the end of the day (or, more accurately, the beginning of the afternoon when I sat down to do this with Emma), I realized that easier was going to work better, so we simplified to using strips of paper.

The supplies:

Construction paper, glue, tape, scissors, pom-poms, and colored straws
We glued strips of paper together:

Added pom-poms for the centers and straws for the stems:

Voila! Paper flowers. Emma has been carrying them around for a few days now.

One hint: the pom-poms stay on better if you use special felt glue. (Elmer's doesn't do jack.) I found some at my craft store for about $2, so we added it to our supply closet.

Fondue

For F week, a friend gave me a great recipe for cheese fondue. I thought it might be a fun way to get Emma to eat some vegetables, as well as learning about the letter F. I was wrong (on the vegetables), but it did make for a fun and delicious dinner.

Simple Cheese Fondue:
2 cans Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 fresh garlic clove (whole/peeled)
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
8 oz.+ Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

In a pot over medium heat (or a fondue pot), heat broth with one peeled garlic clove. Heat to boiling. Remove clove and add soup--stir until combined. Stir in desired amount of cheese. If stringy, add 1 tablespoon milk.

Dipping ideas: Sourdough/French bread, steamed broccoli, roasted potato chunks, cubed baked or grilled chicken

Here is our spread:

Emma, dipping bread (her favorite, though occasionally she'd dip chicken too; she wasn't convinced that the roasted potatoes tasted like french fries):

F Books

I've decided to condense the books into one post for the week, as I don't have all that much to say about each one.

<First Day by Dandi Daley Mackall. This book is a cute, rhyming story all about the first day of school. Even though she's never been to preschool or daycare, Emma really identified wtih the illustrations and enjoyed the story. And there were plenty of Fs!

Froggy's Baby Sister by Jonathan London. Frankly, I find the main character, Froggy, a bit annoying, but the story line is something we can identify with at our house. :)

Fast Food by Saxton Freymann. This book is all about modes of transportation, illustrated with carvings of fruits and vegetables. An interesting and different book.

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. I've heard of this book before, but have never read it until now, and I think it's absolutely delightful! The main character is adorable and I love how her family reacts to her quirks. This book is definitely a keeper--for F week and beyond.

The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist. If you couldn't tell, this book is an underwater take on the story of the three little pigs. Lots of fun.

Finger Painting

For our F activity, we did fingerpainting. Just like when we make the apple prints, Emma was a little freaked out by the activity at first. But she quickly warmed up to it and has asked to fingerpaint again several times since.


PS. I highly recommend Crayola's Color Wonder fingerpainting set, as pictured below. True, traditional finger paints are probably cheaper, but the lack of mess, especially when you have a new baby around? Priceless.