Great idea adding the avocado, Denise! I’ll have to try that. We ate a ton of this soup this summer. It’s my favourite homemade soup ever! Glad you loved it too!

You bet! You can chopped nuts to the cake batter (walnuts or pecans would be nice), or you can sprinkle chopped nuts on top of the frosting.

Mio, Thank YOU. This is one of the sweetest, most sincere messages I’ve ever received. I am so glad you found me and that you love the crafts and activities that I’ve shared. Moms like yourself are exactly the reason that I do what I do. I LOVE sharing our ideas with others, hoping to inspire them to get crafty and creative with their own kids or students. I’m thrilled to think that you and your children will be spending quality time together, trying lots of our ideas. Warmest wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas, too, Mio! xx

At the pharmacy, Kelly, or in the pharmacy aisle at your grocery store, Walmart etc.

You can use any mild bar soap I think, Michelle. If you’re doing the microwave trick first, it has to be Ivory though.

Do you mean you can’t comment on my facebook page, Mari? You’ve commented here on a blog post. I don’t have the private message setting enabled on my page, but if you need to contact me privately, you can email me at jackie@happyhooligans.ca.

Love that tip!

Sent from my iPhone

Done! Thanks for following along, Kelly!

Diane, here’s the link to my pinboards. You’ll find a visual overview of all of my posts there. There are many ideas for messy play, fine motor play, water activities, sensory activities, engaging activities bins etc. http://www.pinterest.com/happyhooligans/happy-hooligans-posts/

Hmmm, all of my projects are either done by individuals or by a very small group of children, Lin. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that a large group could work on. Have you thought of looking on Pinterest to gather ideas?

Adel, I’ve just written a post about simple activities to do with babies and toddlers. Here is the link: https://happyhooligans.ca/fine-motor-activities/. At your daughter’s age, it’s not as important to provide her with “toys” as it is to provide her with simple activities that she can learn from, and that give her the opportunity to develop her muscles, motor control and thinking processes. Very simple instruments like the ones in the post, or wooden spoons, pots and pans, paper to crumple and rip etc. It doesn’t matter to your child whether the item is a “funny toy”. Simple processes will engage her and hold her interest. Just be sure that any items you give her do not post a choking hazard. Here is a link to some homemade toys and games that you might refer to as she grows and develops. http://www.pinterest.com/happyhooligans/homemade-toys-games/

Hi Angela! I’m so glad you’ve found my page! I will definitely keep the activities coming! Make sure you pop over and follow my facebook page as well, Angela. I’m always sharing my older posts there, as well as activities from other kid bloggers around the web!

Hi Diane! My apologies. I linked to Amazon in my post, but it wasn’t the page I wanted to link to. I’ve changed it now, so if you click on the words “glass beads” in the “supplies” part of the post, it will take you to a bunch of the flat glass beads on amazon. I”m not sure if there are multi-coloured beads in one bag though or if they’re all individual colours. I get most of mine at thrift shops, but I know I’ve seen multi-coloured packages in stores. Most likely craft/hobby stores i.e. Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart or even some dollar stores.

Those would be beautiful, Ruth.

Having blog tech-issues today, Jan. Stay with me. I’m workin’ on it!

I’m so sorry, Chris. Thank you for letting me know. I’m definitely having problems with my blog today. This problem is happening for me and a lot of other followers as well. I’m working on resolving it, and hope to get it fixed sometime today!

I’m having some glitches with my posts right now, Sandra, and I’m working to resolve them, so I thank you for letting me know what’s happening to you. So, when you say that you click to read more, and “it just takes you back”, where is it taking you back to? What page do you get to when you click that “read more” button? Hang in there please! I’m working on it.

The directions and measurements are all here in the post, Toni. Please let me know if you’re not able to view the full post. I’m having some glitchy problems with my site tonight. Here’s the link to the instructions: https://happyhooligans.ca/button-snake/

Thanks, Carey! I’m just loving it too! I appreciate your feedback. 🙂

Thank you for your kind words, Michele. I’m so glad you’re enjoying our ideas, and you really have no idea how gratifying it is to know that others are using my site as inspiration for crafts and activities in their own homes and daycares. So thank YOU for letting me know that we’re making a difference! xx

You’re so welcome, Michele! I’m glad you’re enjoying our ideas! I’ll be posting lots more when the hooligans return from vacation in a couple of weeks. There won’t be anything new for a bit though. I’ve had to order a new computer, as my MacBook had a big drink of coffee yesterday. 🙁

I’m so glad you you’ve found us and that you’re liking my site! I would be most appreciative of you linking to my site in your online preschool. You’re more than welcome to just mention us with a simple link, or if you’d like, you’re welcome to share one of my photos accompanied by a link to my site. Thanks so much for spreading the news! I’ll have to check out your Online Preschool!

Thank you, Jen!!! I LOVE knowing that you’re inspired to do some of our activities in your daycare! That’s exactly why I started this blog! Have a wonderful time with your ice!

So glad you enjoyed it, Allison! Love that your “big kid” got in on the fun too! Have a blast with your snow while it lasts!

Hi there! So nice to hear you’ve been following us for a while! Thank you!! I LOVE hearing that other parents and caregivers are inspired by our ideas, and trying them at home! Yes, we do spend as much time as we can outside when the weather is decent. It’s been really mild here this fall, so there haven’t been too many days that we’ve been really cold. On the days that are super cold, we do our crafting inside, and we’re definitely crafting more indoors now than in the warm months, but if it’s nice enough for them to be out without mitts, we often take the craft outdoors. I haven’t had a problem with paint or glue on their coats. If we were doing something that I thought was super messy, we’d save it for warm weather so they wouldn’t ruin their coats. And they have aprons that they can wear if we’re doing something really messy like cloud dough or shaving cream. As far as their regular clothes, we don’t worry about mess. The parents all know that my philosophy is that the children learn best and have the most fun when they can create freely without worrying about ruining a shirt or getting paint on their pants. It’s really important to me that no child holds back from being creative because of their fear of getting messy, so I encourage parents to send them in clothes that can stand a stain or two. The parents are all fine with that. 🙂

Hi, Nadia,
Thank you for your kind comments. I’m glad that you appreciate our approach to play and learning!
Ours is just a small home daycare located in Ontario, Canada. I am the sole employee here, and I’m sorry to tell you that I’m not hiring. It’s just me and the hooligans. Although there are days when having an assistant would be very nice indeed, my daycare is not large enough that I would employ one.
I am flattered by your interest though!
Cheers and good luck in your endeavours in the pre-school world!

Thanks so much!

Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for dropping me a line! I’ve just emailed you! 🙂

That’s so sweet of you, Jenny! You’re so welcome! I LOVE knowing that our crafts and activities are inspiring you in your daycare! Thank you!

Wow, Jo! I can see why it would drive you crazy! You must be just bursting to get started!! I’m so excited for you to be breaking out of the “cookie cutter” environment you’ve been in! You’ll have a blast getting creative and messy with the little ones! Let me know when you get things up and running! You’re always welcome to ask questions, share ideas, post pics of your crafts and activities on my Happy Hooligans facebook wall!
Good luck Jo! Keep me posted on how you’re doing!

Lots of love and hugs,
Jo
Baltimore, MD

You’re so welcome, Lisa! Anytime. 🙂

Thanks for sharing the info……

Lisa Beeke (Helen and Mary)

Thanks for the invite, Nina! I’m on my way to check your blog out now!

Thank you so much, Megan! I just love hearing about it when someone loves what they see here! I haven’t really done a post on organization. I’m fairly anal and organized here though, and at the end of the day, I don’t want to feel like I live in a daycare (lol), so it all gets packed away in armoirs, cupboards, drawers etc. Clear containers are a lifesaver for miscellaneous supplies. They stack nicely and make it easy to find things. I guess I really should do a post on organization one day.

Thank you so much :))))

Thank you for your kind comments, Vera. I had to pop over and see your blog. It is just beautiful. I absolutely love your creative ideas! Those knitted tails are adorable. My hooligans would LOVE to run around with those on. ANd I absolutely LOVE how you sewed and stuffed your little one’s drawings! Your blog is very inspirational!

Hi Debbie, Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed checking us out! If you’d like to have updates emailed to you, you can subscribe that way. In the right hand column of my blog, a little ways down the page (under my blogroll and under the Quirky Momma tag), you should see a little tab that says “Subscribe by email”. Just click on the “sign me up” button, and you should be good to go! Hope that works for you! Thanks for dropping by. 🙂

Debbie

Thank you, Iana! I’ve just started it up, so your compliment means a lot to me. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂