“Tot Time Thursday” is a bi-weekly event hosted by Punk & Bug, here, on The Whimsical Mama. They showcase some of their favourite children’s books. This week’s book is: not actually a book! HA!
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve not posted much the last two weeks. Last week was because I was doing all the things before Punk’s very belated birthday party. This week. Well. That’s the point of this post! My mom and her boyfriend, David, got the kiddos a subscription to Little Passports: World Edition as part of Punk’s birthday present. OMG. I’m so excited. They still don’t know about it. (: I’m waiting to surprise them! In anticipation of that, my old obsession with sewing and quiet books kicked up again! I’ve made a few quiet book pages for the kiddos in the past few years. I’ve just never gotten around to finishing it. That’s changing now! If you have kiddos &/have kiddos in your family and you like to sew, you simply MUST check out Imagine Our Life. Stephanie is brilliant. Cause I’m in the middle of a million and one projects, I’m going to use her images to show you what I’m making/going to make! (The images are the property of Stephanie. I’ve linked back to her original posts, just click on the picture!)
First up is the mailbox. Punk and Bug get a book each month from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library so they love mail as it is. Now that they’ll be getting letters with their Little Passports subscription, I wanted something to make it even more special that it’s JUST for THEM. I remembered that Stephanie had done a Valentine’s Day mail set. That started project one! I only did the mailbox, but here’s a look at what the full set would look like based off of Stephanie’s!
Amazing isn’t it? Our mail box is tan. Once it was finished and showed it to the kiddos, Bug clapped and Punk kept asking if he had mail yet. So. If anyone would like to write them letters, email me and I’ll get you our address! You will get original works of art back! (:
The second part is extremely ambitious and I haven’t started it yet because I don’t have enough felt. Hubby laughs, but seriously. Just like books, I don’t have enough felt. Anyway. Since they’re expecting the World Edition of Little Passports, I remembered Stephanie also did a world quiet book. YES! Now. I have to say. I’m currently planning on only doing the continents. I’m not sure I’m gutsy enough to attempt the animals and landmarks. We’ll see how well my current project turns out! Without further ado: The first thing they’ll get from Little Passports is an adventure set with a world map. So, to start, I’m going to work on an interactive map like Stephanie’s. (Hopefully) it will look something like this:
Like I said, HOPEFULLY. I should be running ALL THE ERRANDS tomorrow, so I’m hoping I can get started on the map this weekend. I’m super excited. The kiddos are excited about all the projects I have going right now too. Once I get the map underway and they get their first Little Passports mail, they get a letter with a clue about the first country they’ll get. Being the sneaky mama I am, I’ve fully investigated the Little Passports site, and know they’ll be getting Brazil first. So, I’ll be working on South America as I work on the full map!
Look at that detail! I’m not half bad at sewing, but I’m really having to work up the guts to attempt the critters.
If you follow me on Instagram, (no offense to anyone, but I accept very few requests as I post pictures of my kiddos and we like our privacy!) you’ll have seen a few of the pages I’ve completed this week. It’s been an audiobook and sewing like mad kind of week! I’m planning on starting to work with the kiddos a bit on their alphabet and such (at Punk’s request and I’m printing a duplicate set so Bug can “participate”) and I’m using a sort of curriculum I found on 1+1+1=1. I had thought about maybe homeschooling the kiddos cause I HATE COMMON CORE. My mom is a teacher, so yes, I have direct exposure to changes in education. I’ve done hours upon hours of research and stumbled across Carisa’s site. Back when I discovered it, Punk fell under her Tot School level. Now he’s basically preschool level. I’ve worked with him without actively working with him and he’s very smart. I’m going to do a mix of her Tot School and her Raising Rockstars Preschool programs. To go with the alphabet and theme packs, Stephanie has some quiet book pages that fit great! Here’s a look at the ones I’ve finished or have in progress currently: (again, Stephanie’s pictures, not mine. 1. I’m lazy and don’t want to hook up my phone to get the pictures. 2. Stephanie’s are brilliant and you can see what they should look like!)
Mine is not turning out anywhere near as good as I was hoping. But then again, looking at Stephanie’s I will always feel sub par! I’m currently working on this page set, so it’s strewn across my coffee table. Hoping I can get it done today!
This is proof I need more felt. I have ALL THE PIECES except the red of the actual firetruck cut out. Go figure, right? My two pieces of red had both been partially used. *sigh* Punk is super excited about his fire station set. Bug is excited about the Dalmatian! She growls every time she sees it. This is only part of an independent set. I plan on making the whole thing for the kiddos. This will go with our F is for Firefighter theme I’m gonna do! (:
Even though Punk knows this is a Stegosaurus, he calls it a Peekaboosaurus. He’s a goof! He’s excited for our D is for Dinosaur theme. Dinosaur Train and his plastic dinosaurs are a huge hit at our house currently! I knocked out this page in an afternoon. He’s asking for buttons on his dinosaur, so it may not be done!
It’s hard to say who is more excited for this page! They both are excited about it. Punk loves to help me in the kitchen so he thinks he’s big stuff “making” his own cookies. Bug delights in pulling them off the buttons. They were so pleased I let them pick the order the buttons went in on the cookie sheet. (: They love being mama’s helpers!
So this is a glimpse into what the Tots and I have been into lately and why I’ve been a bit quiet. I didn’t stay ahead of schedule like I hoped. August is a new month though! (: I have several other pages in progress, but figured this post was getting long enough. If you check out Stephanie’s quiet book section on her website, you can see what I’m planning on doing. I’ve finished several of her pages already and have a few more I’m planning on doing. I showed Bug the doll house set she has and Bug clapped her hands and said “DIS DIS DIS!” so I’m thinking I’ll be working on it for her for Christmas! (: Hope you’ve been having a great summer! (: Punk and Bug will be back “reviewing” their books in two weeks!
The Whimsical Mama 