News with Naylors

Tissue Paper Pumpkin : I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew we had to do it! Easton only put on about 10 pieces of tissue paper before he was done. I couldn't help it and had to finish the art project myself. We taped the finished project on a window and it looked really neat when the sun was out. Click here for a tutorial. Counting with Pumpkin Seeds : I thought this was such a cute idea. We carved a pumpkin and saved some of the seeds to do this activity. For some of the bigger numbers, I gave Easton a chocolate chip to finish them. Click here to print this activity. Foam Pumpkin Decorating : I found a foam decorating kit from the Dollar Store. It came with foam pieces to decorate four pumpkins (skeleton, frankenstein, jack-o-lantern, mummy).                                                               ...

Halloween Oobleck : Easton really liked this activity! I mixed 1/2 Cup Water with 1 Cup of Cornstarch (1:2 ratio). Once the water and cornstarch were mixed together, I poured the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Water and cornstarch is an interesting combination. If it's played with or rolled into a ball, it becomes a solid and if it sits, it oozes into a liquid. I dumped a few plastic Halloween objects I bought from the Dollar Store into the mixture and let Easton go to town. After playing for a while, I brought out a small bin and filled it with water. Easton liked watching the cornstarch dissolve in the water and learning if the Halloween objects sink or float. Lots of great science in this activity! Click here to see the inspiration for this idea.   Decorate a Haunted House : I bought a " haunted house kit " from a local grocery store. We frosted and decorated our haunted house (first picture). I also really liked the idea of making a foam haunted house  (second pict...

Book : "We're going on a Ghost Hunt." This book is really similar to "We're going on a bear hunt" - which is one of Easton's favorite books. I like the bear hunt book better, but Easton seemed to really like this one as well. We read it over and over today and even reenacted the story at home (see activity below). Click here to purchase this book online. Ghost Hunt : After reading the book above, we reenacted the story at home. I bought a little blow up ghost at the Dollar Store and hid it in our living room. I also set up a mini obstacle course as things for Easton to go through to find the ghost. For instance, I set up hula hoops and when Easton jumped through them I said, "Oh, no. Hula Hoops. Round, circular hula hoops. You can't go under them, you can go over them, you have to go through them!" I said something similar with a pan full of spiders, a table, tunnel, and slide. I just used things we already had at home. Easton LOVED...

My mom always had a small stack of books she would pull out of storage for each holiday. I loved this tradition! I bought a few of our first Halloween Books this year. I also rented a bunch from the library for a bigger selection. The pictures and descriptions below are from Amazon. Here are our favorites: "Froggy tries to find just the right costume for Halloween and although his trick-or-treating does not go as he had planned, he manages to enjoy himself anyway." Froggy's Halloween: For some reason, this book was Easton's VERY favorite this year. He loves the part where Froggy puts on his costume and says "Ta-da!" We read this book every day once, sometimes twice this month. Click  HERE  to purchase online. "The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand!  Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they ...

I attempted to make "spider pancakes" for breakfast this morning. Easton could tell they looked like spiders, so that's all that really matters, right? I love the whole wheat pancake mix we always have on hand. It's called Kodiak Cakes. I've seen the mix at local grocery stores, but I always buy ours at Costco. Easton loved them! See the bottom pictures to see what a squeeze bottle can do. Spider Hats: Easton loved this hat! He wore it for a long time, including the time he jumped on his crib mattress while the spider legs bounced up and down. It's pretty self explanatory. I cut a black piece of card stock paper in half (hot dog) and stapled the ends together to make the center of the hat. (I stapled one end, measured Easton's head and then stapled the other end to make sure it was the correct size.) I cut another piece of paper into eight long strips and folded them accordion style. Then, Easton helped me glue on the legs and goggly eyes.  Click...

We didn't have much time today, so read a quick book and made a mummy craft. Book - "Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody" : This book is very similar to the 'Runaway Bunny'. Click here to purchase this book on Amazon. "Filled with uproarious illustrations, a beloved classic gets a kindhearted send-up in this utterly monsterized parody from Michael Rex, creator of the  New York Times  bestselling  Goodnight Goon . This is  The Runaway Bunny  like you've never seen it before. Kids will dig the vast array of terrible monsters, but parents will love the sweet sentiment. A fabulous Halloween treat for all those little monsters!" Mummy Craft : I saw a similar idea on pinterest. I cut a paper towel into strips and we wrapped and glued them onto a toilet paper roll. After the toilet paper roll was covered, we glued on goggly eyes.